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The Kingdom of Wayrest
The ancient rival of Daggerfall, the Kingdom of Wayrest stretches from the mouth of the Bjoulsae, all across the Iliac coast to Koegria, as well as the mountainous County of Markwasten. Wayrest city is, at present, the most populous area in in the Iliac bay, undergoing a cultural and economic renassiance, the results of which are being felt all across the Kingdom. Wayrest's current ruler is Queen Elysana Septim. As of 11th of Frostfall 4E 28, Elysana's eldest son and designated heir Geruld Septim has been murdered, leaving the succession open, with her two younger children, Gaston and Caroline, as well as Geruld's son Thibalt all in contention. Major Dependances *''County Markwasten'', ruled by Earl Dunistair Berarde *''County Koegria'' *''The Duchy of Alcaire'', ruled by Duke Geruld Septim DECEASED * County Menevia, ruled by Count Colisande * County Alcaire, ruled by Count Reynard Gael Delacroix History: A Brief Timeline 1E 800: * Earliest known existence of a settlement in the Wayrest area. It is a small fishing village, probably of River People, hampered by pirates and under the thrall of orcish warbands emanating from Orisinium in the north 1E 948: * Earliest written reference to Wayrest itself: "The Orcs have been much plaguing the Wayresters and impeding traffic to the heart of the land." 1E 950: * Daggerfall, Sentinel and the Order of Diagna drive out the Orcs from the Wayrest area, beginning the 30 Year Siege of Orisinium. Wayrest beings to prosper. 1E 950-980: * The Daggerfallian besiegers of Orisinium peel off and settle the hinterland between the Wrothgarian Mountains and the sea, creating a new defacto ruling class, importing in the oath-making and feudal structure from their Kingdom. Settlements across the Bjoulsaemouth flourish under the newly founded "Archduchy of Upper Wrothgaria". 1E 985: * The Order of Diagna destroy the attempted 2nd Orisinium in The Dragontail mountains, leading to another exodus of Orcs and River People. Many settle amongst the Wayresters in the Bjoulsaemouth. 1E 992: * Aphren "The Gardener", a merchant Alderman of his village on the northern banks of the river creates a wall around his estate in order to protect it from the many River People raiders. Many merchants and refugees alike flock to live around this new political centre, where the modern city of Wayrest is today. 1E 1001: * The Archduke of Upper Wrothgaria goes to war with the Duke of Gauvadon, the Gauvadon fleet sailing down the Bjoulsae sacks most of the towns of the Wayrest League. The Wrothgarian army sent to occupy what is left on the northern bank of the Bjoulsae loot everything that is not within the walled estate of Aphren. 1E 1015: * The Archduke demands a tax from the cities and townships of the land in order to pay for another war with Gauvadon. Aphren, the newly elected Lord Mayor, refuses to pay, and when threatened by the Archduke's army, sails the Wayrest navy out to raid Tunmont, owned by the Archduke's brother, and pays the tax for all his citizens with that. 1E 1054: * Bruthred Gardner, the grandnephew of Aphren, constructs a moat separating the peninsula Wayrest Town sits on from the mainland entirely, protecting it from the armies of the robber barons to the north, and the Archduke. Wayrest no longer is forced to pay tribute to any lord. 1E 1058: * Wayrest, led by the Bruthred, begins a series of wars against the lords of Upper Wrothgaria, beginning the period of suzerainty over the region. 1E 1071: * Farangel Gardner, Bruthred's successor, sends diplomats with gifts to all the major empires in Tamriel 1E 1076: * Saint Aelbedir, a Bosmeri High Priestess of Auriel, begins her mission in Wayrest after coming into contact with an embroidered River-God bone charm that had been sent as a gift to the Camoran Emperor. Wayrest and the Bjoulsaemouth becomes a pilgrimage site within the cult of Auriel. 1E 1100: * Wayrest is given the title of Kingdom by the Camoran Emperor, the barons of the Lower Wrothgar hinterlands swear oaths to Farangel Gardner as the first King of Wayrest. Culture and Economy Society and Mercer stuff mostly to go here Law In Wayrest City, things are rather different. The Aldermen act as judges in the various boroughs of the city, the Aldermen themselves elected by the various companies that make up the Mercers, which is a blanket term for the great merchant families who more or less run Wayrest. The system by which they elect their Aldermen is byzantine to such a degree that it is completely unintelligible to all not involved, but is known to be essentially a form of legalised corruption under a facade of democracy. This boils down to is something like mafia-law at the street level, where the mercenary forces of any particular family run whatever turf being used by a company. All of this is more or less protected in Wayrest law, which leads to certain districts being in something of a constant gang war. On top of all of this is the Royal Law, with Her Majesties Royal Guard. Although officially the Royal Guard have the freedom of the city and all her environs, the Mercer Companies also have an ancient right to deny them entry into any particular building, and due to the fact that the Mercers nearly control all of the wealth in Wayrest, the Royal Guard generally stay out of the Mercer's business whenever they can. Local petty crimes, when they happen (crime is astonishingly low in Wayrest due to the mob-law that pervades most of the city: "illegal" isn't so much an issue as "not paying the Company" is) tend to be dealt with by the Aldermen and their sheriffs. The only body that runs any kind of prison system is however The Royal Guard, and for some serious offences, when the Mercers don't interfere, they do get involved, and have been known to throw treasonous conspirators in the Royal Dungeons. Generally, if a crime steps on the local company's toes, the perpetrator will be "disappeared" by the local family without any process and more than a word, often before the Royal Guard even hear about it. If a crime is of no interest to the Mercers, then it is more likely The Royal Guard will get involve, and their will go through the state legal system. Nominally, the highest arbiter in these matters is Queen Elysana herself, but she has not been involved in any legal case for decades; too busy, no interest, her only legal rulings have been political stunts. Second in the hierarchy, and the person who normally actually dealt with legal matters, was the Prince of Alcaire, the Queen's heir and eldest son, Geruld (recently murdered). Underneath him, Prince Geruld had a small household of magistrates, drawn from the middle classes, who had his Royal Seal and would generally stamp his decree on whatever decree he would be forced to make, if any legal matters ever got past the Royal Guard's own, simple but effective system of "throw the accused in the dungeon for a few months". As generally only criminal legal matters ever made it to the Royal Court, due to any matter of property or business being dealt with by the Mercer's process (any conflicts between Mercer Companies was strictly only to ever be decided by their own Council, the privacy of which is also protected in law against interference from the Crown). Within Wayrest's judicial system are (countless) lawyers and solicitors, who are paid a pretty penny to plead a good case against either a Royal or Mercer court. Lawyers specialising in State law tend to differ in character from those whose expertise lies with Mercer matters. Lawyers of the first order are generally equipped with an exhaustive knowledge of the ancient laws of Wayrest, and, in all probably, have a few strings they can pull in court (if they are worth their money). Mercer lawyers on the other hand can sometimes be indistinguishable from hired criminals (albeit, thugs with good diction), or else great orators, thieves, or blackmailers. This is in part due to the risky business of going up against a Mercer Sheriff: those representing are as likely to be "dissapeared" as their clients, so only the slyest foxes who play the dirtiest tend to stick around for any long time. Owing allegiance to no particular family, these lawyers are men whose purpose is basically to pass on threats and blackmails to whatever party is troubling their client: a risky business. In most cases, if a Mercer Lawyer is used at all, it is simply as an in-between in order to settle some sort of cash payment (ie, a bribe), as septims are what slick the every movement of the wheel of justice in Wayrest. It takes a very special kind of character to turn the tables and leverage a Mercer family back. There are very few lawyers who take both Crown and Mercer cases. Category:Wayrest Category:Lore